


Just Friends

by LuxLouise



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, break-in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26598211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuxLouise/pseuds/LuxLouise
Summary: Astoria Greengrass and Ron Weasley are friends, best friends. When Astoria goes through something traumatizing, can the two come together?
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Ron Weasley
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15
Collections: HN Siriusly Amazing Writing Challenge





	Just Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Hermiones Nook Sirius-ly Amazing Writing Challenge on Facebook! The prompt I chose was
> 
> "I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!"  
> "And I'm trying to subtly avoid it!"
> 
> Thanks to my beta, VesperSwan for going through for me! Any remaining mistakes are my own!

She flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder, smirking when she heard him splutter and curse her hair. Astoria Greengrass was  _ no one’s _ second choice and she had no plans to entertain the bumbling redhead’s hair-brained scheme. 

“Astoria, please. I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you!”

“And I’m trying to subtlety avoid it!” Astoria quickened her pace even though she knew she had no hope of our running Ron Weasley and his impossibly long legs.

“It’s a stupid idea and I won’t even entertain it.”

Ron reached out and grabbed her elbow, stopping her before she entered the lift.

“It’s not stupid. We’re friends, neither of us has dates to this stupid ball the Ministry insists on throwing and we can shove it in our exes faces.”

She rolled her eyes, ignoring the way his cerulean blue eyes sparkled with anticipation, the way his hand, rough from years of playing Quidditch, felt on her smooth skin. “It  _ is _ stupid. No one would believe you and I are dating.” 

His face fell momentarily and she winced. “I didn’t mean it like that, Ron.”

But the damage was done. He released her arm and took a step away from her. 

“You’re right. I’ll see you later. Have a good weekend, Greengrass.”

The use of her last name wasn’t lost on her. In the three years since the end of the war, Astoria had become friends with a variety of people she never would have been allowed to associate with. The most surprising of those had to be Ron Weasley. 

After leaving Hogwarts, Astoria had been unsure what she wanted to do with her life until Daphne and Pansy asked her to work for them at their clothing boutique. That’s why she was at the Ministry, dropping off their permits to expand their shop, The Magic Fit.

Meeting Ron and befriending not only him but the entirety of the Golden Trio along with several other Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and even a few Hufflepuffs had widened her circle and changed her in ways that she hadn’t realized needed to be changed. Shortly after her nineteenth birthday, her marriage contract with Draco Malfoy had been dissolved so he could wed the Gryffindor Princess. Astoria had celebrated with a weekend long trip to Paris, where she stayed drunk the entire time.

The Malfoys were the talk of Wizarding Britain and cameras followed them wherever they went. She had lost count of how many times a nosy reporter had tried to ask about her  _ heartbreak _ at being passed over for Hermione Granger. It was something she and Ron had commiserated over frequently. The press had tried to make him out to be some jilted ex-lover and then when that didn’t work, they painted him a playboy who was trying to soothe his heartbreak by bedding as many women as he could.

_ ‘As if I could get that many birds.’  _ Ron had told her one night over drinks at the Leaky.

They had become best friends without even trying, sharing secrets they hadn’t shared with anyone else, they knew everything about one another except for Astoria’s biggest secret. She had been pining for Ron Weasley for the last six months. No one knew and no one was going to know. They would never work as a couple, they were so different and she was always putting her foot in her mouth like she had done earlier today. She beat herself up over the conversation for the rest of the day. This was the perfect opportunity for them to get closer, for him to maybe start seeing her as a girlfriend, a lover, instead of a friend and she had blown it.

When Astoria made her way back to the boutique, Daphne was helping a customer so she went into the back to set her cloak and bag on the bench in the back before going back out front. She watched briefly as her sister rang up the customer she had been speaking with and then waved the witch out the door. She looked down at her fingers, noting that she needed to update the charms on her nails, they were beginning to fade.

Astoria looked up when Daphne snapped her fingers in her face.

“What? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

Daphne rolled her eyes. “I asked if everything went alright at the Ministry? Did you drop off the permits?”

“Oh, of course, we should have the permits within the next couple days and we can begin the expansion.”

Her sister eyed her suspiciously. “You’re acting odd. Are you sure you’re alright to stay and close up the shop by yourself tonight?”

Swallowing down a groan, she had forgotten she had agreed to close the shop up so Daphne could leave early for a date with some mystery man she was refusing to name.

“I’m fine, Daphne. Don’t be such a worrier. I’ve closed the shop before, I know what to do.”

“Yes I know that, but you seem...out of sorts today. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Why did she have to be so nosy? “I’m fine, just had a bit of a fight with a friend. Nothing to worry about.” Astoria checked the clock on the wall. “You should get going if you’re going to have time to get ready for your date.” 

Daphne glanced up, it was just past five. “You’re right. Send me a Patronus if you need any help.” She paused on her way out the door and turned back around. “On second thought, send one to Pansy. I have plans to be unavailable until at least tomorrow afternoon.”

Astoria pretended to gag as her sister laughed her way out the door. The shop was open until seven on Fridays so she had about two hours left. They didn’t get much traffic but Daphne and Pansy insisted on it. It was more Galleons in her pocket and it wasn’t as though she had anything better to do. She went around, fixing the odd hanger, re-folding a shirt here and there before settling down behind the counter, a book in her hand.

She looked up when she heard the little bell above the door chime, letting her know someone had walked in but there was no one there. She released her wand from its holster on her wrist and gripped it tightly. 

“Who’s there?” She called out, her voice quivering slightly. No one answered.

Suddenly, Astoria was blasted into the wall behind the counter, unable to scream for help. She saw a burst of light hit the register and all the money that had been made that day being tossed into nothingness, she assumed a disillusionment charm was cast over the person and the bag they brought. Her back was aching from hitting the wall so hard and no amount of screaming or the little bit of wandless magic she knew was helping. Astoria watched as the register was slammed shut and then an invisible hand began stroking her cheek, down her neck, pulling at the top of her shirt before it pulled away and the little bell rang again as the door to the shop opened and she was released from the wall. 

Falling into a heap on the floor, Astoria burst into tears, knowing that it could have been so much worse. She picked her wand up from the ground where it had been knocked out of her hand when the intruder had thrown her back. Her hand was shaky and it took her four tries to summon a Patronus, one sent to both Daphne and Pansy, and then another to the DMLE for an Auror to be summoned. She had started to shake and was unable to pull herself up off the floor. It couldn’t have been more than ten seconds from when she sent the message to the DMLE when the door opened again and two Aurors walked in. She knew they wouldn’t hurt her but she couldn’t control the instinct to push herself back against the wall, cringing as they walked closer to her. She closed her eyes tightly and flinched when a large hand touched her arm. Astoria opened her eyes slowly and found Ron standing there, his eyes were gentle but the rest of his face was hardened.

“Are you alright?”

Astoria looked up into his bright blue eyes and began sobbing into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and murmured something to the Auror who had come with him. She vaguely heard Pansy and Daphne arrive and registered the voice of Harry Potter, that must have been Daphne’s mystery man. Her sister hurried over to where she was crying to Ron’s Auror uniform and gently pulled her away from the man and into her arms.

“What happened, Tori?” Daphne asked her gently. “Did they hurt you?”

She took a few deep breaths, attempting to settle her emotions, knowing she only wanted to tell this story once if she could. She told them everything, fresh tears began falling when she told them how whoever it was had touched her. Astoria watched as Ron’s face became redder and redder the longer she spoke. He was pacing around the shop. When she told them the person’s hand had touched her shirt, he swore loudly and punched the wall. Daphne was looking at them both with a curious expression on her face.

When Astoria had finished explaining what happened to the Aurors, Harry, Ron, and the other Auror, Finnegan she thought his name was, started collecting the magical signature from around the shop. Once they had finished, Daphne asked if she wanted her to come to stay the night with her.

“Absolutely not. Go finish your date, Daph. I expect details tomorrow as to how you came to be having a date with the Chosen One.”

Daphne tried to protest a few times, Pansy attempted to get her to come back to her home as well, but Astoria refused and pushed them both back out the door. The Aurors were finishing up when she finally got them to leave. Ron pulled her in the corner of the shop, a grim look on his face.

“You’re not going back to your flat by yourself. I’m going to come to stay with you. I don’t trust that whoever did this won’t try to come to find you.”

Astoria rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m perfectly capable of staying alone. I don’t think Aurors are meant to stay at  _ victim’s _ houses. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You’re likely in shock and soon you’ll break down. I’m not leaving you alone and I won’t take no for an answer.”

A part of her was thrilled at the thought of Ron spending the night in her flat but she pushed it aside with a sigh. “Fine. You’re sleeping on the couch.”

She took Ron’s hand and apparated to her flat with a louder than normal pop. As soon as they appeared in her flat, Ron began waving his wand in patterns at her door, likely setting up Auror grade wards.

“I’m going to go take a shower,” Astoria told him quietly. “I need to wash this day off me.”

Ron nodded as he took off his cloak and settled himself on her sofa. Astoria closed the door of the loo behind her, locked it and then slid to the ground, hiding her sobs in her arms before throwing up a silencing charm so Ron wouldn’t hear her. Her mind was racing, thinking about what-ifs. She wasn’t sure how long she sat on the floor before she crawled over to the tub and turned the water on as hot as it would go. Stripping her clothes off, she climbed over the edge and sat in the bottom of the tub, letting the water from the hot shower run over her. After scrubbing her body until it was red and raw. Wrapping herself in a fluffy black robe and went back out into the sitting room. Ron was crouched in front of her Floo, talking to someone she couldn’t see. She made her way into the kitchen and poured herself and Ron a glass of firewhisky before going back in and settling herself on the sofa to wait for Ron to finish his call.

The green flames died away and Ron pulled his head out of the fireplace.

“They were able to harvest a magical signature. It matches the signature from a string of other robberies in the Alley. We know who it is but we’ve had a difficult time catching him.” Ron threw back the tumber of firewhisky before continuing.

“You should be safe but I’d feel better if you’d let me stay here for the night.”

He said this all very matter-of-factly, almost like they didn’t know each other. He was obviously still hurt by what she had said earlier that day but wanted to make sure she was okay. She stood and reached a hand out, pulling his much larger hand into her own.

“Ron, please let me apologise. I didn’t mean what I said this morning the way you thought I did.” he tried to pull his hand away but she gripped it tighter.

“No, I need to get this out. You’ve been my best friend for so long now, I never wanted to do anything to mess that up. When you asked me to go to the gala with you, I wanted to say yes so bad but when you said it was to make Draco and Hermione jealous, I just didn’t.”

“Astoria…”

“Please just listen.” Astoria paused and took a deep breath. “I’m in love with you. I have been for some time now but didn’t want to ruin the best friendship I’ve ever had. But after the break in, I had to tell you.”

She stopped talking and waited for Ron to respond. He was just staring at her, his mouth slightly open. He straightened his back and cleared his throat and tightened his grip her hands and pulled her forward.

“Finally.” Then his lips were on hers. It was everything she had imagined and more. The kiss was gentle at first then morphed into some more, more passionate as his hands came up to cup her face. He pulled back slightly and smiled at her.

“I love you too, in case that wasn’t clear.”


End file.
